Air Filters

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with what regularity air filters in those parts of the main building with air conditioning are  (a) inspected and cleaned and  (b) replaced.

Nick Harvey: Air conditioning filters are inspected on a monthly basis. The majority of the filters are disposable and are not usually cleaned but replaced as soon as they become dirty. If the filters do not become dirty they are changed on an annual basis.

Marine Energy Accelerator Renewable Energy Project

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding his Department  (a) provides and  (b) has allocated for future years for the Marine Energy Accelerator Renewable Energy Project.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 1999 in excess of £25 million has been committed to support research and development of emerging wave and tidal energy technologies through the DTI's Technology Programme (formerly the DTI New and Renewable Energy Programme).
	In addition, £50 million has been allocated to a Marine Renewables Deployment Fund to assist the continued development of these technologies.
	The Carbon Trust's recently announced £3.5 million Marine Energy Accelerator Programme (www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/technologyaccelerator/mea) is not receiving direct funding support from the DTI. The Carbon Trust's annual funding is in excess of £105 million in grants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.

Ragwort

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what advice he has given, and on what dates, to local authorities on the eradication of ragwort in their areas; what financial assistance is available to them for this purpose; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice is available to private landowners on the elimination of ragwort; and what financial assistance is available for this purpose.

Barry Gardiner: The Department's policy is to control common ragwort and other injurious weeds, where there is a threat to animal welfare or agricultural activities. It is not Defra policy to eradicate ragwort entirely, as we recognise it forms an important habitat and food source for many insects. It is the responsibility of all land managers, including local authorities, to control the spread of weeds from land under their control. There is no specific financial assistance available from Defra for this task.
	On 25 May, I wrote to the Highways Agency, Network Rail and the Local Government Association reminding them of the need to control injurious weeds on their land where there is a risk to horses and other livestock.
	The Code of Practice on how to prevent the spread of Ragwort was published in July 2004 and has been made widely available to public and private land managers. It provides comprehensive guidance on how to develop a strategic and more cost-effective approach to weed control. It is intended for use by all landowners and occupiers, but is particularly relevant for large-scale organisations managing significant land areas, including local authorities and public bodies.
	It gives advice on identification of common ragwort, risk assessment and priorities for ragwort control, control methods their suitability and efficacy, environmental considerations, and health and safety issues.
	To complement the Code of Practice, in September 2005 Defra also published guidance on disposal options for Common Ragwort. This includes information and advice on rotting down, composting, incineration, controlled burning, and landfill.
	Copies of the Code of Practice and the guidance on disposal are available from Defra Publications (telephone: 08459 55 6000) and are on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/horses/topics/ragwort.htm.

Museums and Galleries

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many museum and gallery visits there were in each of the last 20 years in  (a) England and  (b) each local authority area.

David Lammy: VisitBritain's Visitor Attraction Trends ZOOS includes the number of visits to museums that responded to its surveys between 1989-2005. These figures are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Survey Year  Number of visits to responding museums and galleries in England (million)  Number of responding museums and galleries in England  Number of visits to responding museums and galleries based on constant sample of 348 museums and galleries in England that provided visit figures for five years (million) 
			 1990 45.7 537 — 
			 1991 46.9 575 — 
			 1992 45.8 559 — 
			 1993 46.8 573 — 
			 1994 50.7 652 — 
			 1995 52.4 721 — 
			 1996 53.3 707 — 
			 1997 50.8 729 — 
			 1998 53.4 908 — 
			 1999 53.3 914 — 
			 2000 51.4 809 — 
			 2001 55.1 788 36.0 
			 2002 51.9 544 41.0 
			 2003 55.1 657 40.3 
			 2004 55.6 670 41.6 
			 2005 52.1 625 40.9 
		
	
	As part of best value, single tier and county councils report visits to/usage of museums per 1,000 of the population. The data provided in any given year by local authorities can be downloaded from the Audit Commission's website at:
	httpp://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/performance/dataprovision.asp
	The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's (CIPFA) Statistical Information Service surveys local authority museums and the findings are available in its Leisure and Recreation Statistics Estimates publication that is in the House Library.
	In mid-July 2005 the Department and its partner non-departmental public bodies commissioned Taking Part: The National Survey of Culture, Leisure and Sport. Provisional results are available at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/taking_part_survey/

UK Film Council

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by the UK Film Council in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) Ribble Valley in each of the last five years; and which projects have been supported.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 17 October 2006
	The UK Film Council has made lottery awards, both directly and through its delegates Skillset and First Light, to organisations and film makers based in Lancashire over the last five years as follows:
	
		
			   Lottery (£) 
			 2001-02 none 
			 2002-03 59,897 
			 2003-04 48,244 
			 2004-05 86,060 
			 2005-06 555,067 
			 Total 881,181 
		
	
	None of the awards were made to projects in the Ribble Valley constituency.
	In addition to its direct funding of projects, the UK Film Council disperses a combination of lottery and grant in aid funding through the Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE) to each of the English regions through nine Regional Screen Agencies. North West Vision is the agency tasked with supporting film activity in the north-west, including Lancashire and the Ribble Valley. In each of the last five years the UK Film Council has invested RIFE monies in North West Vision as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   GIA  Lottery  Total 
			 2001-02 375,000 340,000 715,000 
			 2002-03 450,000 305,000 755,000 
			 2003-04 525,000 305,000 830,000 
			 2004-05 525,000 305,000 830,000 
			 2005-06 525,000 305,000 830,000 
		
	
	Specifically, North West Vision has invested in Lancashire as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   GIA  Lottery  Total 
			 2001-02 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002-03 11,613 6,530 18,143 
			 2003-04 11,033 4,500 15,533 
			 2004-05 11,035 7,500 18,535 
			 2005-06 13,500 15,122 28,622 
		
	
	None of the projects funded within Lancashire have been from the Ribble Valley
	constituency.
	Some awards have been made by North West Vision to film makers in the Ribble Valley through the Regional Attraction Fund, funded by the North West Development Agency. While this is not a direct investment from the UK Film Council, such funding would not have been secured without the Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE) investment, which created the support infrastructure for the region. For example, funding awards to film makers in the Ribble Valley through the Regional Attraction Fund are as follows:
	Top Notch Productions (John Drury), Clitheroe—awarded £5,000 from the Regional Attraction Fund in November 2005. Purpose of funding—product development assistance towards the creation of a portfolio of programme proposals entitled 'China Revealed' for submission to National Geographic Television International.
	One other project (421 Productions based in Lancaster) has received £10,600 of RAF funding for strategic development.
	I have arranged for the complete list of products supported by the UK Film Council and by North West Vision's RIFE monies in Lancashire to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

China

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Chinese Gvernment about  (a) sustainable development,  (b) corporate and social responsibility and  (c) poverty reduction in Africa.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed both China's future development and Africa with Premier Wen Jiabao last month.
	China and the UK entered into a pioneering sustainable development dialogue last year promoting closer co-operation on issues including environmental protection, urban and rural development, and sustainable consumption and production. The first meeting of the formal ministerial round of the Dialogue will take place in Beijing later this month. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment, (Ian Pearson), will represent the UK.
	As China's economy develops, and Chinese companies become more active internationally, we are encouraging them to adopt international best practice in corporate governance. Through the Global Opportunities Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is supporting the establishment of the Chinese Business Leaders Forum to promote business transparency standards and practices to reduce corruption.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has been increasing its contacts with China on development issues, including poverty reduction in Africa. During a recent visit to China, DFID's Permanent Secretary agreed with Chinese officials to begin a regular senior level dialogue. This should reinforce the agreement between the EU and China at their summit on 9 September to develop a structured dialogue on Africa and explore avenues for practical co-operation on the ground in partnership with the African side.

North Korea

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement on the nuclear test by North Korea issued on her official website on 9 October, what commitments under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty were breached by North Korea.

Kim Howells: A nuclear test by North Korea contravenes its commitments under Article II of the Non-Proliferation Treaty "not to manufacture or acquire such [nuclear] weapons or devices".

Somalia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her colleagues at the UN Security Council about violence in Somalia.

Ian McCartney: As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we participated in the Council's discussion of a possible peace support mission to Somalia on 25 September. The Security Council supports the Transitional Federal Government and Transitional Federal Parliament as the internationally recognised authorities to restore peace, stability and governance to Somalia. It has welcomed the agreement reached in Khartoum between the Transitional Federal Government and Union of Islamic Courts and agreed to consider a peace support mission, if it believes such a mission will contribute to peace and stability on Somalia, on the basis of a detailed mission plan. It has urged all parties to engage constructively to further progress in pursuit of a sustainable outcome.

Departmental Away Days

Mark Hoban: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what away days were undertaken by his Department's employees in the last 12 months; and what the  (a) location,  (b) date,  (c) activity,  (d) purpose and  (e) cost was of each.

John Healey: Information on individual Treasury teams' away days and similar events is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. There have been no away days for all Treasury staff in the last 12 months.

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts his Department holds with  (a) Capital One Financial Services Group and  (b) International Clothing Designs.

John Healey: The Treasury's records show no contracts with either company.

Household Expenditure (Residential Extensions)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether household expenditure on residential extensions to existing homes counts towards the savings ratio.

John Healey: The information requested fall within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 18 October 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on whether household expenditure on residential extensions to existing homes counts towards the savings ratio. I am replying in her absence. (94672)
	Household expenditure on residential extensions to existing homes does not count towards the savings ratio.
	The saving ratio is the percentage of households' disposable income that they have not spent on consumption goods and services, and which they can save. Savings are invested in financial or non-financial assets.
	The expenditure by householders on residential extensions is classified as a form of investment (gross fixed capital formation) in the National Accounts, and not as current, or consumption, expenditure. The investment in extensions is therefore a use of savings, and is not a component in the calculation of the household saving ratio.
	Methodological information on the National Accounts can be found in the publication 'United Kingdom National Accounts Concepts, Sources and Methods' http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1144&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=208
	Tables showing accounts for the Household sector can be found within the publication 'United Kingdom Economic Accounts', tables A37-41 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422

Meeting Attendance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings hosted by  (a) the Smith Institute and  (b) its subsidiary SI Events Ltd which he has attended in the last 12 months.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Disability Living Allowance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the most common reason is for disqualification from disability living allowance.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 18 October 2006:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the most common reason is for disqualification from disability living allowance.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The most common reason for disqualification from disability living allowance is because the entitlement conditions relating to the need for personal care and/ or difficulties with walking are not satisfied.
	I hope this is helpful.

Asylum Seekers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many substantive asylum applications were decided within two months in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: Please see the follo .
	Information on the timeliness of asylum cases is published in the quarterly asylum statistics on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Percentage of new substantive asylum applications having an initial decision reached and served within two months( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Target( 4)  Actual 
			 2001-02 60 61 
			 2002-03 65 75 
			 2003-04 75 81 
			 2004-05 75 80 
			 2005-06 75 76 
			 (1 )Excludes withdrawals and 3rd country cases, which may be the responsibility of other EU member states under the Dublin Convention.(2 )"Two months" is defined as 61 days.(3 )Excludes asylum applications lodged by Iraqis between 1 February and 31 May 2003.(4 )Details of government targets relating to the proportion of decisions served within two months are provided in the 2000 Spending Review Public Service Agreements White Paper available from: http://www.treasury.gov.uk/.

Dispersal Orders

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders were issued in  (a) Humberside and  (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 October
	Section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 provides the police with powers to disperse groups and remove under 16s to their place of residence, within authorised areas. These powers came into force on 20 January 2004.
	Information on the use of the powers has not been routinely collected. However, from a Home Office data collection exercise, we estimate that 809 areas were designated in England and Wales between January 2004 and June 2005. From April 2006, the data is being collected by police force area.

Dispersal Orders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders were issued in each (a) police authority area and  (b) local authority area in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 provides the police with powers to disperse groups and remove under 16s to their place of residence, within authorised areas. These powers came into force on 20 January 2004.
	Information on the use of the powers has not been routinely collected. However, from a Home Office data collection exercise, we estimate that 809 areas were designated in England and Wales between January 2004 and June 2005. From April 2006, the data is being collected by police force area.

Embarkation Controls

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what significant changes have been made to embarkation controls for passengers travelling overseas since 1994; on what date each such change was made; and for what reason in each case.

Liam Byrne: On 15 December 1993 Home Office Minister (Charles Wardle) announced that on 1 February 1994 embarkation controls would be withdrawn for passengers travelling to destinations within the European Community from ferry ports, small and medium sized airports.
	The reconfiguration of the residual embarkation control at other ports was announced by Home Office Minister (Mr. O'Brien) on 16 March 1998. The Immigration Service retained an ability to operate embarkation controls on an intelligence led basis, but blanket manual system based embarkation was ineffective.
	Following the events of 7 July and 21 July targeted embarkation controls were established at Heathrow, Gatwick, London Waterloo and some other international ports in support of Special Branch.
	Targeted intelligence led embarkation controls continue to take place at major ports to identify failed asylum seekers and other immigration offenders who are leaving the UK.
	Scheduled to commence in 2008, the e-Borders programme will strengthen and modernise our border control including providing an electronic record of all those entering and leaving the UK.

English Language

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people in the UK who  (a) speak English as a second language and  (b) do not speak English.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The Skills for Life Survey reported that 7-8 per cent. of adults of working age in England (£2.2 million-£2.5 million people) spoke a first language which was not English. There are no exact figures for the numbers of people who do not speak English at all, but it is estimated that around half of those who spoke another language would benefit from help with their English skills.

Foreign Criminals

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of  (a) convicted prisoners and  (b) those held on remand in prison pending trial are non-British nationals.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of  (a) convicted prisoners and  (b) untried prisoners held pending trial can be found in the Offender Management Caseload Quarterly Brief, October to December 2005, Table 2.11 a, at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/omcsq405.pdf.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Hampton Review

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what input  (a) his Department and  (b) its (i) agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies had into the Hampton review and its report 'Reducing Administrative Burdens: Effective Inspection and Enforcement'.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms), Question number 89473.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current backlog of  (a) immigration and  (b) asylum cases is at the immigration and nationality directorate.

Liam Byrne: On immigration cases, the data available for in-time in-country applications for leave to remain and for travel documents as at 31 March this year is shown in table 1 as follows.
	The number of outstanding applications for each of the work permit schemes as at 31 March this year is shown in table 2 as follows.
	Information on the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision is published quarterly on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.htm.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  General Group  31 March 2006( 1) 
			 Charged(1) 20,700 
			 Non-charged(1) 31,250 
			 Travel documents(1) 1,900 
			 Totals 53,850 
			 (1 )Provisional figures obtained from electronic local management records, subject to revision. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Work Permits (UK) Area  31 March 2006( 1) 
			 WP (UK) core business and sector based scheme 2,620 
			 WP (UK) further leave to remain (IED) 2,810 
			 WP (UK) highly skilled migrant programme 2,290 
			 WP (UK) workers registration scheme 3,865 
			 WP (UK) seasonal agricultural workers scheme 0 
			 WP (UK) business casework unit 75 
			 Work permits (UK) total 11, 660 
			 (1 )Provisional figures obtained from electronic local management records, subject to revision.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog of immigration and asylum cases was in March of each year since 1996-97.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 5 June 2006
	I am advised that information is not fully available in the format requested for in-country immigration applications and work permit applications. The data available as at 31 March 2006 for in-time in-country applications for leave to remain and for travel documents is shown in table 1 as follows:
	The number of outstanding applications for each of the work permit schemes is shown in table 2 as follows:
	Information on the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision is published quarterly on the Home Office Website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.htm
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  General Group  31 March 2005( 1)  31 March 2006( 1) 
			 Charged(1) 20,000 20,700 
			 Non-charged(1) 38,600 31,250 
			 Travel Docs(1) 1,500 1,900 
			 Totals 60,100 53,850 
			 (1) Provisional figures obtained from electronic local management records, subject to revision. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Work Permits (UK) Area  31 March 2005( 1)  31 March 2006( 1) 
			   No records are available pre-2005 
			 WP (UK) Core Business and Sector Based Scheme 4,299 2,620 
			 WP (UK) Further Leave to Remain (IED) 14,548 2,810 
			 WP (UK) Highly Skilled Migrant Programme 8,515 2,290 
			 WP (UK) Workers Registration Scheme 3,618 3,865 
			 WP (UK) Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme 0 0 
			 WP (UK) Business Casework Unit 149 75 
			 Work Permits (UK) Total 31,129 11,660 
			 (1) Provisional figures obtained from electronic local management records, subject to revision.

Thbian Salim

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to deport Mr Thbian Salim.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 22 August 2006.

Volatile Substances (Convictions)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been enforced against volatile substance abusers since their introduction.

Tony McNulty: Data collated centrally for statistical purposes does not identify the circumstances that led to the issuing of an ASBO.

Psychologists

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many clinical psychologists were  (a) in post and  (b) in training in NHS establishments in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to increase the number of clinical psychologists.

Rosie Winterton: Since 2001 the number of clinical psychologists in the national health service has risen by 1,608 (29 per cent.) to 7,122 and the number of training places has increased by 157 (37 per cent.) to 582. The numbers in post have increased by over 3,000 since 1997. It is for local services to determine how many clinical psychology staff they require to meet local service needs.
	The tables show the number of clinical psychologists in post and in training in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Clinical psychologists, England 
			   Headcount 
			 2005 7,122 
			 2004 7,051 
			 2003 6,757 
			 2002 6,092 
			 2001 5,514 
			  Source:   The annual NHS workforce census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Clinical psychology training commissions, England 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 582 
			 2004-05 569 
			 2003-04 510 
			 2002-03 500 
			 2001-02 425 
			  Source:   Quarterly Monitoring Returns.

Tuberculosis Research Strategy

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards establishing a national audit of treatment failures and deaths from tuberculosis.

Caroline Flint: The Health Protection Agency are currently improving their enhanced tuberculosis surveillance system to provide more accurate data and analysis on treatment outcome. These data will be used to inform the development of a national audit of treatment failures, which is currently under consideration.
	A summary of the results of monitoring for treatment outcomes for cases of tuberculosis reported in 2003 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly on 13 July 2006. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available on the Health Protection Agency's website at www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2006/cdr2806.pdf. Data for 2004 is scheduled to be published in November 2006.
	Data on deaths is provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Tables have been placed in the Library and are available on the HPA website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/epidemiology/tables.htm#mort. These data are updated by ONS annually, usually in the first quarter of the following year.